Islam vs Muslim | Difference
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Do Islam And Muslim Mean The Same Or Do They Differ From Each Other?
Off late the number of instances pertaining to the words ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’ being used interchangeably have become frequent so much that it is very important to highlight the differences between the to two terms. One of the best ways to distinguishing between two words entails tracing their roots and the words ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’ are no exceptions to this rule.
Islam is an Arabic word which was coined more than a thousand years ago to denote a religion founded by Prophet Mohammed. As it is said, during the 7th century, the holy saint was visited by an angel named Gabriel who revealed to him certain edicts. This continued for 23 years wherein each visit of the angel revealed certain edicts about the way of life as dictated by ‘Allah’, the supreme authority. Collectively these teachings formed the crux of the religion that the world came to recognise as ‘Islam’ and when they were compiled, the book thus formed was referred to as Quran. Till this day, Quran remains the holy book of Islam the world over and is revered by the followers of this faith as the ultimate word of God.
Because Arabic as a language is trilateral Semitic, meaning every word is a derivative of three different words, Islam is derived from three root words which stand for peace, purity and submission respectively. When prefixed with the alphabet ‘I’, the derivative is the word Islam and when the entire word is preceded by the letters ‘al’, the outcome is al-Islam, meaning the Islam. Therefore, the word Islam is a noun that stands for the religion or community in its entirety and is also used to refer to activities that might be practiced in its name.
Islamic art, Islamic convention and Islamic community are some of the expressions that represent the correct usage of the word Islam because it refers to the collective action pertaining to a particular faith. Thus, Islam could be best explained as a collective noun which should be used for the community or program rather than any single person.
To the root word s – l – m, if a prefix of ‘mu’ is added, the outcome is the word ‘Muslim’, meaning a person who is a follower of Islam. As opposed to Islam which is collective, the word Muslim is a singular noun and refers to a person who submits to the will of God and believes in total and unquestioning acceptance and surrender. Therefore, an individual who follows Islam as his primary religion is known as a Muslim. He is in no way representative of the entire community but is a single smallest entity within the community like an atom which is the smallest form of matter.
Taking this a step further, Islam is a belief that cannot be quantified while a Muslim has human form. So the phrase Islamic architecture is correct but to refer to a person as Islamic man would be wrong, the correct way being that of referring to him as Muslim. Likewise, you could be interested in a religion which is followed by Muslims but you can never be interested in the Muslim religion.
Every religion has its set of tenets and doctrines and while the doctrines apply to the religious community as a whole, tenets are laws that are meant to be followed by the practitioners of that religion. In Islam, there are six doctrines of faith that are abstract in nature and there are five tenets, referred to as pillars, which are meant to be followed by Muslims as a part of their daily lives.
According to Islamic faith, its followers must believe in Allah and his revelations, angels, prophets, the last day of judgment and predestination. So generally speaking, the Islamic community believe in Allah as the one and only creator of this universe who is eternal and sovereign in his own right. Prophet Mohammed is regarded as Allah’s final prophet, Quran is the interpretation of Allah’s word and everything happens according to God’s will, which is summed up in the phrase ‘Inshallah’.
A Muslim, simply meaning a follower of Islam, in the truest form, must provide a testimony of faith, meaning shahada, must offer prayers five times a day namely salat and must indulge in charity or the act of giving namely zakat. It is also mandatory for a Muslim to fast during the month of Ramadan and make pilgrimage to Mecca during the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar in a journey known as the Hajj. For a Muslim, the ultimate objective is to win Allah’s permission to gain entry into the paradise which is supposed to be a formidable ordeal which prophet Mohammed himself was not sure of.
So, Islam vs Muslim? While Islam is an ideology which could assume a political nature, a Muslim is a person who is free to interpret Islam in a way that he feels correct and follow it. Hence, Islam as a religion may serve as the uniting factor for a large number of people hailing from different parts of the world but two Muslims might differ from each other in interpreting the teachings of Allah and hence may lead completely different lifestyles.
Essentially, the difference between the word Islam and Muslim is explained as the difference between faith and the follower of the faith.
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